Dream job seem out of reach? One of the biggest reasons people don’t get where they want to be is they don’t know where there is. Yogi Berra said it best:

“If you don’t know where you are going, you’ll end up somewhere else”

If you have the map, landing the job of your dreams is actually simple. You start by not“spraying and praying.” Focus on a specific industry, company, and position. Then focus your plan even further.

Use your focus to identify traits of successful people already doing the job you want. Search LinkedIn and job postings for key words, skills and successful outcomes of people in the position.

Finally, make sure to find the employers ‘pain point” and sell the fit, not yourself. Showing how you can solve the employer’s problem is the best way to stand out. In the end, it’s not about you.

The majority of your competition is not going to do everything necessary to land their dream job. They won’t put enough energy into focusing their job search. They won’t do the research and digging to figure out how they can solve the employer’s problem. They won’t have a map where X marks the spot, showing the path to their dream job.

So grab your treasure map and do these three things. Before you know it, you will hear “you’re hired.”